The Ogun State Police Command has arrested a 28-year-old cleaner, Victor Cletus, for impersonating a doctor, defrauding a young woman, and sexually assaulting her under the pretext of being a surgeon.
The police spokesperson, CSP Omolola Odutola, disclosed this in a statement on Friday.
Ms Odutola said Mr Cletus’ arrest followed a distressed report lodged by the victim, who explained that the suspect had contacted her on Snapchat and had falsely presented himself as a surgeon at the Babcock University Teaching Hospital.
She stated that the victim, believing the suspect’s fabricated credentials, had confided in him about a medical concern involving a lump in her right breast.
Ms Odutola added that the suspect had taken advantage of the victim’s vulnerability, had demanded an unspecified sum of money as a supposed operation fee, and had deceitfully instructed her to meet him for a surgical procedure on November 18.
According to her, instead of offering any medical assistance, the suspect had sexually abused the victim and had also withdrawn money from her OPay account.
She explained that the victim had become suspicious the following day when the fake doctor had continued to demand sexual intimacy without conducting any medical examination or procedure.
The police spokesperson said this development prompted the victim to contact the hospital independently, where she was shocked to learn that the suspect was not a surgeon but a cleaner at the facility.
Mr Odutola noted that after the discovery, the victim had reported the case and the suspect had been promptly arrested, adding that the case would be investigated and prosecuted accordingly.
The commissioner of police, Lanre Ogunlowo, condemned the offence and warned individuals who used social media to deceive, exploit, or harm innocent persons that the command would not hesitate to arrest and prosecute them.
He urged young females to exercise caution online and to avoid disclosing personal or medical information to strangers on social media.
Mr Ogunlowo reaffirmed the command’s commitment to identifying, arresting, and prosecuting individuals who impersonate professionals or weaponise social media platforms to perpetrate criminal acts.
(NAN)